This year I have set myself a casual challenge to learn to identify more wildflowers. When I say it’s a casual challenge, it’s one that has developed in part because of my natural curiosity about plants and in part through necessity. Garden visits have been almost impossible this spring and summer because of lockdown restrictions,Continue reading “Wildflower Love ♥”
Category Archives: Nature & Wildlife
Garden Goodies @ GPE 2020
Last week I attended the Garden Press Event in London for the first time – this is an event organised to allow the horticulture industry to come together so that journalists can view the latest products, find out about new campaigns and generally share information and news. It was a whistlestop tour of all theContinue reading “Garden Goodies @ GPE 2020”
Where do ladybirds go in winter?
This is the question I’ve been asking myself lately. I’ve noticed more ladybirds than ever in my garden this year. They’ve popped up all over the place – in pots, under the bin lids, on doorframes, in the house, and – thankfully – on my plants, presumably feasting on any pests which would dare toContinue reading “Where do ladybirds go in winter?”
September Stars
It seems I have a late summer garden – there’s more colour on show in September than there has been during the rest of the year. The front garden is currently showing off all its colours – yellows, pinks, peachy dahlias and flashes of reds from the crocosmia, roses and even a few second-flowering geums. Continue reading “September Stars”
Playing the long game…
Gardening is a lesson in playing the long game. I’m a quick-fix, instant-gratification type of person, so my growing love of the garden has brought with it an appreciation for taking things a bit slower. For taking the long view and planning ahead for the same season, the next season, the next year, the nextContinue reading “Playing the long game…”
Shinrin-yoku: forest bathing
Tree-huggers and leaf lovers, come this way… After a week of house arrest due to the snow, then frantic work days catching up after the snow, plus too much talking, eating, drinking, thinking and social-media-ing I decided that the best and quickest way to feed my soul and enter recovery mode was a good solidContinue reading “Shinrin-yoku: forest bathing”
Curly wurly
I’m noticing a certain kind of shape around me at the moment – for the past few days I’ve been spotting curls and twists, exposed I suppose by the bare branches of winter. One that I notice daily is the contorted hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) which is right outside our back door. This large shrub isContinue reading “Curly wurly”
Interlude
Some of you might have noticed a wee bit of a gap between posts. Here’s what the garden got up to inbetween…
A day in Edinburgh
When I’m not in the garden I do my best to hold down a job, working in communications. Today I’ve been in Edinburgh at a PR festival, in an attempt to learn a bit more about my profession and do some networking. So I’ve spent the day listening to PR experts discuss the media, politics,Continue reading “A day in Edinburgh”
A murmuration of starlings
Although there wasn’t much murmuring going on, more like a joyful breakfast cacophony! We were visited yesterday morning by a little flock of parents and fledglings – a kind of nursery outing if you will. Some of the babies looked very newly fledged, others were bigger and bolder and all were calling frequently to theContinue reading “A murmuration of starlings”
Catching up…
Well it seems it’s been a busy couple of weeks since I last wrote a post. Thankfully, part of the reason for that has been some lovely weather – when the sun’s shining I’m not inclined to stay in the house and stare at a computer screen, I want to get outside and garden! SomeContinue reading “Catching up…”
Nesting
Spotted this afternoon…Mrs Blackbird sitting in the large nest she and Mr Blackbird have built in the ivy wall in the back garden, nicely hidden behind a large conifer. I noticed the nest a few days ago but it was only today I spied one of them actually in it. And she spied me spyingContinue reading “Nesting”
Nesting & a New Visitor
Happy Easter! I hope your Easter weekend was filled with happy and peaceful times, as well as chocolate eggs 🙂 I have eggs of another kind on my mind at the moment, because for the past couple of weeks I have spotted a blackbird making a nest in our garden. She’s borrowing the top ofContinue reading “Nesting & a New Visitor”
Yellow
I have spent ALL DAY outside today, and it’s been wonderful. Yellow has been a theme running through… It was bright and only a wee bit cold so I headed out straight after the school run on my new favourite walking route, which goes through fields, past some interesting houses and into the woods, withContinue reading “Yellow”
Rooks & Reds
This morning when I walked up to the woods there was a gang waiting close to the entrance – about half a dozen, they were all in black, shouting loudly, calling to each other, generally messing about and putting others off coming nearby. Fortunately they were also about 50 feet above me – rooks reallyContinue reading “Rooks & Reds”
Julianne Robertson 